


A Reunion Worth Waiting For

by aryastcrks



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual reunion, M/M, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, References to Depression, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:37:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14499159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aryastcrks/pseuds/aryastcrks
Summary: This story begins at the end of The Force Awakens/the beginning of The Last Jedi. There will be some changes from canon but it will mostly stick to the storyline of The Last Jedi (even if it kills me). I don't want to give too much away, but basically this story will show Han in the afterlife and Luke dealing with depression, grief, and loss. Enjoy...





	A Reunion Worth Waiting For

Han awoke to a soft, yet bright light, full of kindness and warmth. He looked at his hands, a younger version of themselves. He was laying on a soft bed of grass, surrounded by the smell of earth and lavender, and the sight of vibrant tulips. The warm, white light started to fade and Han saw two silhouettes standing above him.

“Where the hell am I? Who the hell are you?” Han asked, hearing his voice as it was when Luke blew the Death Star to a trillion pieces, all those lifetimes ago.

Two young men, both in Jedi cloaks and bearing dirty blonde hair, smiled warmly at him.

“Welcome to the Beyond,” the man with the fancy accent said. “It is a plane of existence where all souls come to rest. It is bound together by the Force. You will come to know of this as your home.”

“What do you mea-“ Han started, when he suddenly felt a searing pain in his abdomen and he clutched his stomach in an attempt to dampen the burning sensation. His whole life came back to him in flashes within a matter of seconds — his birth, his adventures with Lando, his first time meeting Luke, his first kiss with Leia, the birth of his son, Ben, his death — and then the pain suddenly ceased.

The man who spoke to him bent down and said: “I’m Obi-Wan. You’ll remember me. And this is Anakin. We have both taken our younger forms so you will not recognize my face, nor Anakin’s without his helmet.”

 _Han sat in disbelief, processing this. How could this be happening? I was supposed to stop Ben but now..._ Han’s thoughts trailed off and he realized he had been sitting in silence with the two Jedi standing above him, awaiting his response.

“Well what the hell, if it isn’t Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Fucking Vader. Interesting welcome crew I got here,” Han finally said, standing up and brushing off his pants.

Anakin looked down and laughed softly.

“Your son’s an idiot,” he said, looking Han in the eyes.

“Yeah, well he’s your grandson, and he’s trying to be you, so I guess that makes you an idiot too.” Han said back, half smiling. _How can I be smiling and joking in a time like this?_

“Very true,” Obi-Wan chuckled.

“So... the fate of the galaxy and all that... what’s going to happen?” Han asked without trying to seem worried about Ben.

“Not to worry,” Obi-Wan replied. “It shall all work out in our favor.”

“How do you know? And how come I can’t know? I’m in the afterlife now, ain’t I? Shouldn’t I be able to tell the future and shit now, too?” Han crossed his arms and shifted his weight.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Unfortunately, only those who are force sensitive have these abilities. Not to worry. You’ll be happy here.”

Han sighed in return and looked at he ground, uncrossing his arms. “Ben’s... really gone, isn’t he?” he asked.

Obi-Wan and Anakin both nodded gravely.

Han stared down at the ground, fists clenched. “I still love him. I...” Han trailed off, fighting to find the right words. “I won’t give up on him.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a glance that Han pretended not to notice.

“Luke... if you can hear me... don’t give up on Ben...” Han sat back down on the ground, his heart aching for Luke, and Ben, and Leia. The heartache was so tangible to Han that he put his hand on his chest. He hoped that somewhere out there, Luke could sense his love, and his pain, and that he would return to the Rebellion. He hoped that Leia could save their son. He hoped that he could reunite with Luke, and finally speak those unspoken words.

*** * ***

Luke laid in his bed facing the stone wall of the small hut he now called home, hearing the Lanai going about their daily tasks. He didn’t want to get out of bed; he found that just waking up was becoming a chore almost too hard to bear. He closed his eyes, trying to push away the self-loathing, the sadness, the guilt. He tried going back to sleep but found that sleeping for 14 hours straight had left his body without an ounce of sleepiness. He sighed and reluctantly sat up, his stomach growling. He found himself thinking of Han, and a pang of guilt struck him in the chest; how could he explain to Han that he was the reason for his son’s turning to the dark side? How could he possibly bear Han’s disappointment, his anger, his hatred?

Luke had known from the moment he saw Han that he would love him. He remembered how struck he was with how handsome he was, with his scent, a mixture of sweat and cologne, and his sly, arrogant attitude. Han frustrated him to no end, but goddammit, he loved him. When he found out that Han had been trapped in carbonite and that Jabba had taken him, his heart had broken. When Leia announced that she was pregnant with Ben, his heart broke even more. How could he could compete for Han’s heart with his own sister? He couldn’t. But there was always this unspoken thing between Han and himself, something that hung so heavy in the air between them that it was palpable. Luke’s feelings for Han left him feeling weightless at times, and as heavy as lead at others. He was in love with that man, and he was responsible for the death of his son and the birth of Kylo Ren. Nothing would be able to fix that. Nothing would be able to fix _him_.

Luke sighed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, a yawn escaping his mouth. He cringed at a sharp pain in his back; getting old _sucked_.

Luke stood up from his bed and exited his hut to begin his daily routine, despite his brain telling him to go back to bed. He found himself thinking of Leia. _She must know by now why Ben turned to the dark side_ , Luke thought with a bitter taste in his mouth. How could he let down his only family left in the galaxy, both Ben and Leia? How could he _live_ with that?

 _What is my purpose? I can’t save anyone; in fact, I’m responsible for all the lives that Kylo took. Everyone, the entire galaxy would be better without me._ Luke consciously realized for the first time that these thoughts were getting stronger and more painful and coming more frequently everyday; the anxiety and pain were so constant that Luke forgot what it felt like to be happy.

Luke shook those thoughts from his head and pressed on into the day; he began milking a thala-siren, said hello to the Lanai, and walked down to the cliff's edge to begin fishing, when he heard a familiar sound in the distance. He looked up and saw what looked like... _The Millennium Falcon?_ Luke rubbed his eyes as if he was dreaming. He dropped his fishing spear and ran towards the sight of the ship. Only one thought kept running through his mind as he raced towards the Falcon: _Han._


End file.
